Barry Soper: Why can't our politicians stand up for Kiwis in front of Australian bull?

Australian Prime Minister Malcolm Turnbull with New Zealand Prime Minister Bill English. Photo / Mark Mitchell

Former Prime Ministerial tyrant Rob Muldoon had a way with words and he'll amused from his sty in the sky about a comment he once made about kiwis flocking across the ditch for the dusty pastures of Australia.

Muldoon said they increased the IQ of both countries and that's probably more true today than it was then. When he made his observation you had little problem getting Australian residency which entitled you to the same stuff that we all take for granted, like welfare payments if you needed them.

That all changed it 2001 when John Howard shirtfronted Helen Clark and made sweeping changes in an attempt to curb the number of kiwis going to live there and immediately accessing welfare. Essentially the Aussies wanted to contain costs that might be incurred by letting our workers in, workers who have a higher employment rate than their Aussie counterparts.

We were issued with a rather appropriately named visa in the circumstances, a subclass 444. The vast majority of Kiwis living there fall into that category and although they may have been living there for decades, the visa's classified as temporary.

In recent years they've stepped up their disdain of Kiwis living there, deporting many of them if they've served time inside even though they may have gone there as kids with their parents. So for many the bad habits were learnt in Australia but rather than taking any responsibility for them, they've made it our problem.

That's bad enough but things are steadily getting worse with Malcolm Turnbull, in the true Anzac spirit, now declaring anyone wanting Australian citizenship would have to wait for four years before going through the hoops, up from one year. This new moves comes within two months of a so called pathway to citizenship for New Zealanders.

If you listen to Bill English our people are now talking to their people to make sure we all understand what's intended and what the implications are. English says it's clear kiwis will have to wait longer before they qualify.

He says it's disappointing while the man who wants his job says it's a breach of the good faith in the agreement that was signed just last year.

So they're both peeved. But why on earth can't one of them have the courage to take the Australian bull by the horns and insist that Aussies in this country get the same treatment as kiwis do in their country?